With no crowds, Wrigleyville has different feel for Cubs

CHICAGO (AP) — Laurie Shaw heard the roar of the crowd and let out a laugh.

The Chicago Cubs were about to open their season at long last against the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday, and it sure sounded like a packed house at Wrigley Field.

Of course, no fans were allowed inside the famed ballpark. The noise was piped in — one of many oddities in a season like no other.

But the recorded cheer of the crowd and the crack of the bat were welcomed sounds for baseball-starved fans even if stadiums are off-limits to the general public. In a delayed season condensed to 60 games because of the COVID-19 pandemic, they'll have to make do.

“It's a little unusual to hear fake crowd noise, but we can hear the new organist and that's great,” Shaw said as she watched on a laptop with daughter Jenna, visiting from Boston.

The two decided they had to be at the ballpark even if they couldn't go inside. So they made the trip from downtown with a laptop and two chairs and found a spot across Waveland Avenue, beyond the left-field bleachers.

While some fans watched from rooftops up above, the Shaws completed their picture with hot dogs and peanuts in what became a 3-0 win for the Cubs.

Though she wondered if it's safe to play, Laurie Shaw was glad to have the game back. With the temperature at 80 and barely a cloud in the sky, the conditions were perfect for baseball even if the conditions were unusual.

“It's certainly the nicest weather we've ever had for an opening day,” Cubs executive vice president of sales and marketing Colin Faulkner said. “But it's just nice to get here.”

To South Sider William Gonzalez, it could not have happened soon enough.

“It's about time,” he said. “TV was boring without sports, to be honest. All we had was pro wrestling."

Gonzalez...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/With-no-crowds-Wrigleyville-has-different-feel-15433179.php